Oil & Fuel Bleeding Fuel Line...

[choreboy]

After changing oil and filter on Saturday, I was going to change the fuel filter element until I realized there was a bit more to it than I had originally thought.

I'm new to diesel ownership and maintenance and although it doesn't appear to be too tough, I thought I'd post and ask if there are any tips or traps to consider before I go for it...
The manual's pretty clear, but I can hear the voice of experience even more clearly /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Also, Jinman or someone, what is the purpose of the infamous 'jiggle pin' /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif on the thermostat on these TC tractors?

Thanks everyone for all your posts and replies, I'm learning enought to be dangerous.....Did Cotton get his new TC 40DA yet?

Guess what, back to work.....!!

 

[jinman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Also, Jinman or someone, what is the purpose of the infamous 'jiggle pin' on the thermostat on these TC tractors?
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The jiggle pin is to bleed air through the thermostat when the tractor is cold and the thermostat is cold. It keeps air from becoming trapped inside the engine. If you drain your radiator and cooling system and refill with new antifreeze, the jiggle pin will allow the air to escape. You might have to wait a few minutes for all the air to get out of the engine and put in more coolant, but at least you won't have an air pocket which will cause your engine to overheat.

Thermostats need hot water to operate, they don't work well on just hot air. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Also, for changing your fuel filter...
Make sure when you replace your filter, you prefill the bowl with diesel. Even if you overfill it and some spills out, what you want is to have as little air in the system as possible. I think if you are reasonably careful, you will not have a problem.

I'm sure some others will have additional good tips. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[KrisHansen]

when I changed my fuel filter, I didn't pre fill the bowl, as I would have likely spilt it anyway, trying to get around the dipstick.. When I turned on the fuel shutoff, I opened the bleed screw on the fuel line, and waited till air-free fuel came out (took about 3 seconds with a full tank of fuel.), then shut it. It was very easy..

 

[PineRidge]

I did the same as Kris. All went well.

Thought about pre-filling the fuel bowl, but I knew me and my fat fingers would most certainly dump it all over the tractor and me if I did.

I was overly concerned about getting the retaining ring tight on the bowl. Mine was extremely hard to get off. I asked my dealer and he commented that since the seal was made by an o-ring they just snug the retaining ring up and they don't leak beyond that. I guess the guys at New Holland must be gorillas or have extremely long spanner wrenches. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[choreboy]

Yep, PineRidge, on my first attempt to loosen the bowl, I realized a hefty set of channel locks along with several other odds n' ends will be in the tool crib soon....

There's no end to the ways we can spend our hard earned money /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Hey Kris, from the looks of that snow blower on the back of your 33, from now on when it snows in MD, I'll suspect it could be originating from your driveway /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
I'll bet it really throws it!

That's a nice unit...

 

[choreboy]

Jinman, thanks again for the info, I appreciate it. Allow me to amplify my ignorance here by asking another question...

Our coolant systems are 'closed' so, where does the air escape to? I obviously need to refer back to your drawings from earlier posts to see what I'm missing, besides a full understanding of coolant systems, obviously.... Why a pin that's not even presure sensitive ( spring loaded)
I thought this was the purpose of the overflow tank & drain?

For the price of a thermostat, I can correct this, and it's all quite important to me as I have learned my previous owner simply snipped the jiggle pin off.
Though I have not worked the tractor hard yet _at all_, I need to make absolutely sure my gauge is good to go before mowing season gets here or I do any other PTO work.

Learning by doing.....

 

[jinman]

Snipping off the jiggle pin is fine. Only if you operate in very cold conditions would it change your operating temperature. Not having it will probably add a couple of minutes to your warmup time though.

Air gets trapped in the coolant system most often when you drain all the coolant and add new stuff. The jiggle pin kind of works like a checkvalve to fluid because of its density. At normal air pressure, the pin hangs down and doesn't seal off the hole, so air escapes from inside the engine as you add the new coolant. Because your radiator cap is off, the air just goes right up and out. For normal operation, there is very little or no air in the coolant system and expanding fluid escapes to the overflow.

If you tractor doesn't have a problem coming up to normal operating temperatures in 10 to 15 minutes, I would not worry at all about that jiggle pin. If the temperature stays down below the green area all the time, you probably have other issues like the drain hose/bypass problem many of us have had. ...hope this helps. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[choreboy]

Thanks for the confirmation on the snipped pin, I was hoping he had not created any further problems by doing so.

I went back and looked over the posts on the coolant bypass problem and how you and others had addressed it...Good stuff, thanx. I'll clamp off my line tonight and see how it goes. I'll be more confident when I see the temp gauge indicating what it's supposed to. I had not considered the wear on the engine by operating too long at lo temp ?? Even though we would not want to operate any liquid cooed engine without an indicator I can't see how operating at lo temp could be harmful? Seems the opposite ...

Again TBN forum members have taken a problem, sorted it out and served it up in fine fashion, with pictures and commentary..... Know that your time and willingness to share your experiences are invaluable to all of us new owners!

I hope to post a wrap up to this after the weekend. Have a great one..

 

[jinman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I can't see how operating at lo temp could be harmful? Seems the opposite ...
)</font>

Actually, operating an engine too cool is very harmful. The tolerances in the engine and viscosity of lubricants are designed to operate best at the middle of the operating range. When an engine is too cool, you can get scoring of the pistons, carbon build-up in the cylinder head, and excessive bearing surface wear. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Did you ever see someone start a cold engine and rev it up just to keep it going? That is very, very hard on an engine. Not only has the oil pressure not stabilized, but the cold engine is self-destructing at a much higher rate than it should. I think others will confirm that a cold engine is not something you want. I'm glad we got a chance to give you this advice. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif It could add lots of hours to your tractor's life. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[choreboy]

I understand what you're saying about stressing an engine when it's too cold, as in when we just start on a February morning at 5 degrees.

At the same time am I to understand that operating even 20-40 degrees lower than 'normal' can make a difference to long term operating efficiency?

I mean, given proper coolant level, proper warm up time, no leaks or blockages does my tractor care it it's coolant is 160 degrees or 190 degrees?

I grabbed these figures out of my head /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif but I guess they're close to real world numbers.

This is very interesting to me. Needless to say, I hope to have the tractor pull the hearse to the cemetery some day /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif and hope to do as much as possible to extend engine life....

"When answers bring questions, real learning begins..."
Dad, 1967